Starkad - Skaldic Poetry

Skaldic Poetry

Starkad is said to have composed poems himself which appear in Gautrek's saga. Thor's hate of Starkad because of his jotun origins is mentioned in Skáldskaparmál, where there is a lausavísa by Vetrliði Sumarliðason praising Thor for having killed giants and giantesses, and for having defeated Starkad:

Leggi brauzt þú Leiknar,

lamðir Þrívalda,

steypðir Starkeði,

stéttu of Gjalp dauða.

Thou didst break the leg of Leikn,

Didst bruise Thrívaldi,

Didst cause to stoop Starkadr,

Didst stand on lifeless Gjálp.

You broke Leikn's bones,

you pounded Thrivaldi

you cast down Starkad,

you stood over the dead Gialp.

However, it could also be a reference to Starkad's grandfather, Starkad Ala-Warrior, whom Thor killed for having kidnapped Álfhildr, the princess of Alfheim.

Famous quotes containing the word poetry:

“Poetry is concerned with using with abusing, with losing
with wanting, with denying with avoiding with adoring
with replacing the noun. It is doing that always
doing that, doing that and doing nothing but that.
Poetry is doing nothing but using losing refusing and
pleasing and betraying and caressing nouns. That is
what poetry does, that is what poetry has to do no
matter what kind of poetry it is. And there are a
great many kinds of poetry.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)